1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector for carrying signals, the connector having a filter element secured thereto for filtering unwanted frequency components of the signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The increasing use of high speed digital pulses for communication has lead to the use of sensitive components to receive and manipulate such signals. This sensitivity has in turn made the components vulnerable to unwanted frequencies transmitted thereto on the same signal path as the wanted signal frequencies. To solve the problem caused thereby, a number of developments have lead to patents that purport to filter out unwanted frequencies using electrical connectors as the vehicle for accommodating appropriate filters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,115 granted Sep. 22, 1987, relates to a telephone connector with by-pass capacitor and teaches the use of capacitors built into the connector to filter out unwanted frequencies from the signals carried thereby. Means are provided for interconnecting such capacitors between the signal paths and grounding paths. As will be discerned, the filters occupy a considerable proportion of the total volume of the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,224 granted Sep. 20, 1988 represents a modular electrical connector which includes capacitors and additionally, ferrite inductors to provide filtering. As with U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,115, the filter elements take up considerable volume, raising the height of the device above a printed circuit board or part of the assembly served by the filtered connector.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector having filter means that add minimally to the dimensions of the connector.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a connector with filter means that are disposed on the exterior surface of the connector housing in an unobtrusive way.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a simple and readily manufacturable filter construction that is cost effective yet reliable.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an electrical connector having compact filter means and a plurality of identical terminals, whereby grounding of the filters is accomplished through one or more of these terminals, the other terminals used for carrying signals.